Coronavirus: Dozens ignore lockdown rules to watch ‘organised’ street fight outside pub

Large group seen screaming and shouting as two men brawl with boxing gloves

Dozens of people have been filmed flouting coronavirus lockdown rules to watch an “organised” fight outside a pub that was streamed live on Facebook.

Video footage showed a group of at least 30 people screaming and shouting as two men, who were both wearing boxing gloves, fought in a car park in Newcastle on Friday.

Some spectators used a lorry and a scrap metal van as makeshift stands to watch the fight, with video showing one of the boxers knocking his opponent to the ground to cheers from the crowd.

Northumbria Police said they dispatched officers after receiving reports of an “organised fight” near the Crockets Hotel in Newcastle.

Some locals described those who attended the brawl as “idiots” for ignoring government guidance on social distancing, according to the Newcastle Chronicle.

“I can't see my family or friends, yet some people think they are invincible battering each other in car parks,” one local resident told the paper.

“We received reports that an organised fight had been arranged at a premises on Mitchell Street, Newcastle, on Friday, 15 May,” a spokesperson for Northumbria Police said.

“Officers attended and on arrival, a number of those present dispersed without issue and neighbourhood policing teams remained in the area to carry out patrols.”

Government guidance currently says people should not gather in groups of more than two outside, except with members of their household, to help slow the spread of Covid-19.

People have also been urged to maintain social distancing by staying two metres apart from anyone outside of their household, with ministers warning that the coronavirus infection rate is likely to increase if people meet in large groups.

On Sunday, police in Telford, Shropshire, said a group of about 70 people had been caught breaking lockdown rules by gathering for a “rave” with DJ equipment in a park.

One attendee at the gathering said he had come to the event because he was “sick of self-isolation”, according to a police officer.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said on Friday that more than 14,000 fines had been issued by forces in England and Wales for breaches of social distancing rules.

The figures, which were recorded up to 11 May, showed the highest number of fixed penalty notices were handed out in London, with 906 fines issued.